


Seer of Blood

by Insuffer6la (CrimsonShades)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Blood, Just some random AU thing really, M/M, Mild Angst, Needles, Side Meulin/Kurloz, Side Mituna/Latula, Soulmate AU, tw?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10077050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonShades/pseuds/Insuffer6la
Summary: Kankri Vantas can see the red string of fate that connects people who are meant to be and works as matchmaker of sorts.





	1. Chapter 1

During the quieter moments, he liked to reminisce about how it all had begun.  
Now, it was far from unheard of for people to develop certain abilities, usually at age 13. Nobody knew why, it just happened. It was as though they were triggered by puberty. Not everyone received an ability however and not all of them had any practical use either. Some were disadvantages rather than practical.  
Kankri didn't particularly mind his. At the time he had discovered it, he felt as though the universe was trying to pour salt into the fresh wound the rejection of his childhood crush had torn open. As though fate was trying to tell him that while he was unlucky in love, he could assist everybody else in finding the person they were meant to be with and he hadn't liked the idea much at first, but grown to accept it over time. He had decided to focus on the bright side; it allowed him to save others the heartbreak and sorrow he himself had to endure.   
He watched the sky grow brighter with every step that carried him toward his tent, which was located on the Bazar, a place famous for its many ascended people working there and offering their unique abilities. Why they were called Ascended, he did not know. It had simply become a term people used to describe the parts of the population with abilities. Since the sun was only rising somewhere behind the walls that protected the residents from the strange monsters and beasts roaming the wild and the majority of the townsfolk was still asleep and the Ascended were only beginning to set up their stalls, tents and booths, there was not much going on yet. It was quiet. Kankri enjoyed the quiet.  
He nodded at the few people he walked past and they usually nodded back. He didn't exactly know what they specialized in and he doubted they knew much about his business either. He had tried to find out as much about his neighbors as he could when he had first set up tent, but people came and left, so it had become exceedingly tiring to keep track of everyone. At some point, he had simply stopped. He recognized a few faces, like the guy sitting right beside a dark alley, selling potions that Kankri suspected were actually blood, whose wiry, messy hair and crooked grin sitting amidst a face covered with white paint rendered him unmistakable.   
The only other people he actually talked to, besides his customers, were the lively girl whose booth sat right next to his tent and her boyfriend. They had been there for the past three years, selling herbs the majority of which Kankri suspected were actually somewhat illegal and gossip. How they managed to get their hands on the news, with her being deaf and him being mute, he would never quite figure out, but they were nice enough. Meulin regularly offered him some of their herbs, an offer which he always politely declined. Kurloz wasn't much for conversation.   
Sometimes, when business was going slow, Kankri found himself chatting with Meulin about who was fated to be with whom, a subject she took a surprising amount of interest in. After their first week as neighbors, she had actually asked him who her soulmate was, so Kankri had offered her one of the needles he kept in his tent to make matters easier and she had pricked her finger. They all did. What was a drop of blood when it came to true love?  
The second the olive drop oozed out of the broken skin, a bright red string appeared, seemingly growing right out of her chest. Kankri could see it just fine and nearly shook his head when he remembered how long it had taken him to figure out what these red strings that showed up the second someone drew blood in his presence were for and what they meant. He had peeked over his shoulder and could feel a smile tug on his mouth still when he remembered the overjoyed expression on Meulin's face when he had assured her that the string lead right to Kurloz' heart, connecting the two. Clearly, they were fated to be together.  
Unfortunately, it wasn't always that easy. Kankri had actually gone on expeditions with customers to help them follow the thread of fate, spent days and weeks outside the walls. But he always felt that it had been worth it. Not only because people were usually willing to pay handsomely for the prospect of true love, that certainly wasn't his motivation. He always felt bad when he asked for a boonbuck or two, but unfortunately, he was anything but wealthy and needed what little money he demanded for his services to scrape by. Love was his livelihood.  
He waved at Meulin and Kurloz when he reached his own, pecan-colored tent, gifted to him by his childhood friend Porrim and they waved back, she with a lot more energy than her partner, before Kankri parted the flaps and sat cross-legged on the red pillows, more gifts from Porrim, inside his tent. He felt comfortable leaving them out there, as nobody would dare steal from an Ascended. The non-ascended respected them too much, although fear might also play a part in their reluctance to mess with them and the small community of Ascended had a code of honor to keep everything together.   
Kankri would never risk losing any of Porrim's generous gifts. Not only because her wrath was not something anyone in their right mind would wish to incur,but also because she had practically raised him ever since he was a wriggler. She had hardly let him go, but he insisted that, once he had saved up enough money for a room, it would be high time for him to stand on his own legs. He still paid weekly visits to her and her younger sister Kanaya in their store where they sold the most beautiful clothing ever conceived. They were also the ones who had given him the idea to use needles in the first place.  
He pulled said needles out of a box he kept on himself, placed them on the cherrywood table in front of him, which was easily the most expensive thing in his possession and then he waited.  
Some days were better than others. Some were quiet, some were not. Some were followed by long trips to follow the red thread, in other cases, the one his customer was looking for was standing right outside his tent.  
With a blissful sigh, he allowed himself to relax slightly.  
It had been utterly crushing when he saw that Latula, his childhood crush, and Mituna, the boy she had chosen over him, were connected by a red thread as well. He had noticed that shortly after figuring out what the strings meant. She had scraped her knee when she and Mituna were climbing the wall like the little daredevils they were, which was enough blood for his vision to kick in. Of course, he had then tried pricking himself, but had never seen a string of fate, so he figured that he was simply meant to be alone. By now, he was convinced to have come to terms with that realization. If he could help others find happiness, that was still great and something t be proud of. It would appear as though he himself simply wasn't meant for love.  
The day continued to be quiet, with but a few people requesting assistance and their soulmates being fortunately not too far away. Enough money for a decent meal. Kankri was satisfied. Just as he considered packing up however, the flaps parted once more and the last lost soul for the day stepped in. They wore a violet cloak, but took the hood off almost right away. The first thing Kankri noticed about the tall male were the fins, which meant this particular customer was a member of the royal family. How peculiar. Kankri had never seen one of them up close and felt his heart beat with excitement. His gaze briefly wandered over the jetblack hair, which was meticulously gelled back and shiny with product, the bolt-shaped horns, the way the man's fins twitched while he glanced around the small tent, his dark violet eyes, the two lightning shaped scars on his forehead, the gills on his exposed neck, what little of his tall but apparently muscular build was visible under the cloak.  
"I-" began Kankri, which caused his visitor's eyes to lock on him, so he quickly stood up and took a bow. "Greetings, you Highness." He stuttered, cleared his throat and looked up to check the Highblood's reaction, just in case he had forgotten something. He wasn't exactly familiar with the standard procedure. But since the other didn't look like he was going to have Kankri executed for offending him somehow, on the contrary, if the twitching of his fins was any indication, he was uncomfortable, he figured that he had done okay.  
"You're the Seer of Blood, right?"   
Kankri nodded. This was the title he had been given. It was fairly appropriate, so he didn't mind.  
"How can I be of service?"  
The man laughed briefly, but without humor and sat down when Kankri gestured for him to do so.  
"Well, I'm supposed to find a mate to continue the bloodline, I guess. At least that's what Pops says, so I gotta. And I figured that I wouldn't wanna spend my life with the wrong person, right? So I asked around a bit and was sent right over to you." He flashed a brief grin and Kankri tried not to shudder at the sight of the sharp, triangular teeth. "Can you help me? My name's Cronus, by the way."  
"Kankri." Kankri replied absently.   
Cronus smile brightened just a little, only to die when Kankri pointed at the needles.  
"In order to help you, I must ask you to prick your finger and draw a drop of blood. It will hardly be painful, but is necessary in order for me to find your soulmate."  
"Seriously? I didn't think this Seer of Blood thing would be so literal."  
"I'm very sorry," Kankri assured, "though it will only take a second and then we can move right on."  
"Fine." Cronus shrugged and reached for the largest needle.  
"I would recommend the pinkie or ring finger and to insert it to the side rather than the center of your fingertip."  
He continued to do as instructed and Kankri felt his breath hitch at the sight of the rich shade of violet. The highest caste that had paid him a visit before had been Indigo and that had been only one time - the man had just been broken up on by his umber-blooded boyfriend and wanted comfort. He didn't seem particularly convinced by Kankri's abilities, but was happy to sink into the embrace of his new partner nonetheless.  
There it was, bright as day and shining in the same bright red as Kankri's own off-spectrum blood, that would have surely condemned him to a live much worse than this had it not been for his ascension. He followed the thin line that seemed to grow right out of Cronus' chest - and for the first time in six years, he questioned his abilities.  
He turned his head to check to the right, to the left, behind him, but the thread stopped. Right there. In the center of his chest. And the heart contained within suddenly sped up as he tried to rationalize, but he couldn't.  
After all, this was entirely impossible. He had built his life on the foundation of his own solitude, had always been convinced that this was his lot and all of a sudden, it turned out that his significant other was sitting right there? Surely, this could only be wishful thinking.   
Besides, there was no possible way that _he_ was meant for this man. Nobody of that social standing would possibly be interested in being condemned to spending the rest of their life with a mutantblood. Sure, he always preached equality and spectrablindness, but there's a difference between saying something and actually meaning it, right?   
Not to mention, the longer he stared at Cronus, the more inadequate he felt. He was short, scrawny, wore ill-fitting, usually oversized clothes, his hair was an unruly mess that refused to be tamed despite his best efforts and his horns were tiny nubs. Cronus wouldn't accept this, nobody would.  
Unfortunately, said Highblood began to grow impatient. His fins fanned out and fluttered slightly, his bushy eyebrows furrowed.  
"Well? Whaddaya see?"  
Kankri opened his mouth and could not manage to make a sound, his mouth suddenly acrid desert dry. Any word he could possibly say at this moment struck him as dumb and insignificant.   
What's worse, he suddenly felt doubt fester inside of him, not only in his body that he had always been fairly comfortable with, but in his abilities. What if he had overestimated them? What if he didn't _actually_ see who was fated to be with whom, but only lead his customers straight into the next dead-end relationship and left people who had trusted him with their love life feeling betrayed and hurt? Who was he to claim to be in possession of such intimate knowledge of someone's fate? Who was he anyway?  
The longer he hesitated, the more he felt his own hope, his optimism, his beliefs drain. It was as though they simply evaporated right out of him and just as he felt tears well up in his eyes, Cronus shook his head.  
"This was a bad idea, right? Go figure. Nobody wants to be with me. Never have, never will. It's probably for the better if I just die alone. I shouldn't have dragged you into this." He stood up.  
Kankri took a deep breath and rose himself, just as his visitor turned towards the exit. "It's not impossible that I've merely exhausted my vision for the day. It- it happens. It's not an uncommon occurrence, today has been rather busy and I'm admittedly fairly tired, I was just about to close up for the night and get some rest when you entered-" He rambled, of course he was rambling, that was what he did when he was uncomfortable, or sad, or convinced to be right about something and eager to rub his superior knowledge into his interlocutor's face.  
"Oh?" Cronus stopped. He tried to keep an impassive expression, but the perking of his fins gave his interest away.  
"Perhaps we should spend some time together. To get to know each other. So that I may gain a better insight in who you are as a person and I can better determine the person you are fated to be with. That should work."  
He had forced himself to maintain eye contact with the man as he spoke, to keep his voice from shaking and he hoped that the blood rushing to his face could be attributed to his previously mentioned exhaustion and nothing less.  
Cronus relaxed visibly. His mouth even curled up into a smile again. "Sure. Sounds good enough for me. How 'bout we meet up for dinner tomorrow and see if your vision clears up any by then."  
"I would be honored, sir." He was just about to take another bow, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.  
"Kankri, was it? Relax."  
He simply nodded and stood still as his customer left the tent, with a click of the tongue and the promise to pick him up right here at the same time tomorrow.   
Only when Cronus had left did Kankri allow himself to move. He fell heavily into the right pillows and exhaled with a loud sigh. His muscles suddenly felt too weak to carry him, he was shivering and his internal organs felt as though they had played a round of Twister and gotten irreversibly tangled. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting for when Meulin peeked into his tent.  
"Who was the guy who just walked out here with the biggest shit-eating grin in history? Kurloz said he looks loaded."  
"Just a customer, is all." Kankri managed. He had to remind himself to raise his head a little so she could properly read his lips.  
When he locked his eyes on her however, he noticed that she hadn't been looking at his lips at all, but the entirety of his face and her full lips suddenly parted in a knowing smirk.  
"Did you help him?"  
"It is a Work in Progress, I suppose."  
The only response he received was a shriek and an excited oliveblood darting right out to yell at her boyfriend to update the wall.  
Kankri sighed. He would have to schedule in a trip to Porrim's tomorrow, to get some better fitting clothes. And maybe some dating advice. His eyes wandered down and he tugged at the still very much visible string of fate that connected him to the prince out there. It trembled lightly, but didn't tear.  
He would simply hate to embarrass himself in front of the man he was apparently destined to be with.


	2. Chapter 2

"Who would have thought that Kanny would get himself a date in this life?" Porrim asked, shaking her head.  
"Certainly not me, I assure you." Kanaya promised.  
"It's Kankri and I'm right here." The Seer announced. He was standing with open arms between the two Maryam sisters, who were poking needles into the dark red suit he was wearing. It was sure to replace the cherrywood table as his most expensive possession. He was fortunately sure that Porrim was going to insist on giving him a discount, a habit of hers he was as opposed to, as he was grateful.  
Kanaya was crawling around by his feet and checked how well the pants fitted him, while Porrim was taking measurements of the jacket.  
"So, tell me about the person who managed to successfully ask my little boy out." She didn't even acknowledge his previous comment. Three more needles stuck between her painted, pierced lips.  
He pressed his lips together and huffed, but knew better than to move even in the slightest. Although he was more than tempted to prick himself and see if he would be able to see the string, just to be sure it was still there.  
"It's not a date, we're just having dinner. He's a customer of mine."  
"That's perfectly fine. I've dated my customers before, there's nothing wrong about that."  
Kanaya chuckled. Kankri rolled his eyes.  
"It's nothing serious, I assure you."  
The older sister merely hummed and tugged on the fabric one last time, before giving a nod and taking a step back.  
Kanaya got up as well and dusted her skirt off. She gave Kankri an encouraging smile, just as Porrim pulled a wheeled mirror in front of him to give him the chance to marvel at himself. He did take a moment to stare with wide eyes at the unusually fancy looking young troll in the mirror. He couldn't remember the last time he had worn something that wasn't a sweater. He had a veritable pile of sweater at home, all hand-crafted by Porrim, all gifts for various occasions, though most commonly wriggling days. He sometimes joked that he wouldn't even need blankets anymore, as he would just need to cover himself up with sweaters.  
"Now, just remember to always stand up straight, maintain eye contact, say please and thank you-"  
"Porrim." Kankri interrupted, but she already had her hands in his hair to try and keep it in line. Her continuous success with this task lead Kankri to believe that this was her true superpower. "I'm not a grub any more, I know those things."  
"When there's multiple sets of cutlery, you start on the outside and then move to the insides with each subsequent course."  
"That will do nicely, thank you!" He had to raise his voice and flailed his arms in defense as he hurried towards the door.  
Porrim lowered the tissue she had just licked to wipe Kankri's face with to add some finishing touches to his appearance and sighed. "Impossible."  
Kanaya chuckled again. "Don't they grow up so quickly?"

Cronus was either a huge prick or incredibly oblivious. Kankri couldn't quite decide.  
He looked around the restaurant he had been lead to, an arm awkwardly hooked with the seadweller's and couldn't help but feel offended by that blatant display of privilege. Save for himself, nobody in the entire building was lower than the jade caste and those jades were carrying trays with fancy looking foods and drinks in strangely tall glasses. One of them lead the two to a table right beside an aquarium, took a bow and left to return shortly after with two menus.  
The jades knew better than to stare, but the other patrons stared at Kankri as though his mere presence was polluting the air in the restuarant and he felt exceedingly uncomfortable in his skin with every passing second.  
Cronus on the other hand was the only seadweller present, so the other people knew better than to provoke him or his date.  
Kankri realized that that was the only word to describe this meeting. He had already had a hunch when Cronus had picked him up saying "All dolled up for me? Gotta hand it to you, you do clean up nicely", but managed to banish the thoughts to the very back of his head. He decided to keep it casual, mentioned Porrim and her insistance on him wearing that garish outfit and watched Cronus chuckle softly in response, as he racked his brain to figure out what possibly made the man tick.  
He came to the conclusion that, for as aesthetically pleasing as he found his appearance to be, a sentiment which continued to tinge his cheeks red with shame for its incredible shallowness, the violetblood had an unfortunately one track mind, after the previously mentioned went on for some fifteen minutes about how unappreciated he was by his peers despite his best efforts to be a nice and understanding guy who listens to people's problems and also dabbles in music and doesn't give the slightest bit of a damn regarding his high social standing - that comment actually made Kankri glance around the etablissement once more - and how he wouldn't mind dating down on the spectrum at all.  
Kankri just nodded politely whenever he deemed it appropriate and was actually legitimately surprised when Cronus suddenly stopped monologuing and asked his date about himself.  
There it was again; that sense of dread, that feeling of inadequacy. He shifted uncomfortably as he hurried to gloss over his early childhood, which was spent mostly in Porrim's smothering care, until he had saved enough money to move out.  
At least the claim about him being a good listener appeared to be true, since Cronus' eyes remained locked on his face while he spoke. Kankri had to actively tear his gaze away from the seadweller's fins, which twitched every now and then and focus on his words. The sight was strangely captivating.  
Fortunately, their waitress brought them their plates just in time for Kankri to have a decent excuse to not go into detail about things like Latula.  
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking." Cronus began, after a few minutes of poking around in his food. Kankri had to remind himself to sit up straight and "Hm"'d, as his mouth was still full with food that was as overpriced as it was delicious.  
"When did that whole Seer-business start for you?"  
He had heard of flashbacks, but hadn't expect to ever experience one himself. Kankri cleared his throat.  
"I was thirteen. Kanaya had pricked herself with a needle while sewing and I suddenly saw a red thread that hadn't been there before and that she was unable to perceive. I never got to follow it, as it lead past the walls."  
Cronus nodded. He was twirling the stem of his glass between his fingers. "Have you ever been outside the walls?"  
"A few times, actually. Usually with a customer whose match was out there. I've even been to the human settlement before, because fate as it would seem, does not mind mixing things up a little, species-wise. Which isn't to say that I've never had human customers before either, a few have actually found their way to my humble tent and requested my assistance before as well. It's quite astounding, although I personally wouldn't want to spend more time out there than absolutely necessary. The first time I've left the walls was after a particularly" He hesitated. "Upsetting moment." That's it. That was all he was going to say about it. Though upsetting was quite an understatement of the emotional devastation he had felt when he'd seen Latula give Mituna a kiss, shortly after announcing that her new boyfriend would pick her up. Her "Hey there, Tunez! Ready to get radical?" and the quickly added "Seeya on the flip-flop Kanklez!" after realizing that he had been standing there, then watched them run off and leave him behind, still haunted him to this day. He still remembered the feeling of having all air knocked out of him, followed by an indescribably painful void taking its place and then he had just started running. He'd run and run, out the open gates and through the wilderness, watching the scenery fly past him, blurry from his red tears.  
"Kankri? You in there?"  
The Seer snapped out of it and cleared his throat. "I'm very sorry. I was lost in thought."  
Cronus flashed a crooked grin. "What've you been thinking about?"  
"My first time outside the walls."  
"What was it like?"  
"I'd mentioned the upsetting moment, correct? Well, after that, I just kind of ran outside and didn't stop until I reached the canyon with the quest cocoons. Do you know them?"  
"Yeah, I've been out there once myself. Spent the night there on a dare." Cronus shrugged his shoulders.  
The quest cocoons were twelve perfectly circular stone slabs, each of which had a strange symbol carved into its surface. Nobody knew why they were called that or where they had come from, but they were there.  
"I did that as well." Kankri reminisced. "I remember sitting down on one to catch my breath, but wound up passing out. When I came to, it was morning and I felt like I'd gone to hell and back during my sleep."  
Cronus nodded.  
"It was peculiar."  
"I'm sure."  
They ate in thoughtful silence for a while after that, but Cronus managed to pick up the conversation with some smalltalk halfway through the meal.  
After making a big deal out of paying, he accompanied Kankri to his humble abode.  
"Wow, that's a really bad neighborhood, isn't it?" The seadweller whistled.  
"I suppose so. But it's cheap. I can easily afford it. You should however be careful on your way home, especially in the dark."  
Cronus laughed softly. "Yeah, I should've brought my cloak again. You know? The one I was wearing yesterday? I didn't want any of the guards knowin' that I was headin' out. Always gotta look out for rumors, you know."  
"Well, if it was meant to make you any less noticeable, it certainly failed spectacularly. Few people wear violet." He couldn't help but smirk. Cronus chuckled. Kankri couldn't help but notice the way his fins moved when he did that.  
"Oh, might I ask a favor before you head back to the castle?"  
"You're not gonna let me stay the night?" Cronus actually sounded disappointed.  
"The castle isn't that far. Besides, I only have the one recuperacoon."  
The seadweller huffed. "Fine then. What do you want?"  
"I would like to check for a string again, if you'd let me."  
Kankri was offered a hand that was slightly larger than his own. "Sure. Go on."  
One violet drop later, he almost sighed out loud. There it was again. Red. Thin. Glowing. Growing right out of Cronus' chest and leading right into his very own.  
"Well?"  
"No. I'm very sorry. There's still nothing."  
He felt bad for lying. He really did. But he felt even more uncomfortable thinking about making that confession.  
Cronus shrugged his shoulders. "Well, damn. I've still had a nice night. Wouldn't mind doing that again, either." The sudden press of cold lips to his cheek threw Kankri off completely. "Sleep well." Whispered the seadweller against the flushing skin, smiled and turned to head back to his home.  
It took Kankri a few moments to get his legs, which had suddenly turned to jello, to carry him inside. By the time he'd curled up in the slime of his recuperacoon,his face was a bright red beacon and the feeling of guilt that was gnawing at his insides had been numbed.

The following week was going fine. Kankri had very carefully hung up his red suit in a corner of his small hive and was happy not to have to wear it again. It was far too tacky for his tastes.  
Of course, Porrim demanded a meticulous report of how the date had gone and ignored his protests on it not being a date. She was however impressed when Kankri admitted to having been out with a member of the royal family. He didn't tell her about the string either.  
Cronus dropped by a few times. It was easy to tell in advance, because Meulin started shrieking the second she spotted him, which gave Kankri ample time to prepare himself for the flaps to part and the man to step in. Usually, they just talked. Kankri checked the status of the string every now and then, only to find it still being there. And for all his character flaws, Cronus appeared to be fairly nice. He even brought Kankri lunch on two days. He asked him out the second time and Kankri felt it inappropriate to decline.  
The seadweller fortunately learned his lesson and picked a slightly less fancy restaurant for their second date. This one was frequented by more midbloods. Still not entirely Kankri's level, he found, but he felt considerably less misplaced. They continued with the small talk. While Cronus wasn't as nice as he tried to make himself appear, he was even more deplorably lonely than Kankri, despite his higher social standing, which sparked a flame of pity in the mutant's heart. Besides, for the first time in forever, someone actually paid attention to his suggestions about the various improvements that could be made to the situation of the underprivileged lowbloods. Even if it may have been just fake interest, it felt nice to be listened to for a change.  
Their third date was really just the two of them taking a walk through the nightly city, arms hooked and sharing comfortable silence. They walked through the Lowblood district that Kankri called his home, the Midblood district, took a stroll over the Bazar, or the Ascended district, as some alternatively called it and took a break on the fountain in the center of the Highblood district, that contained a gold statue of the Empress spraying water from the crown atop her head.  
Also a detestable display of privilege.  
But it was okay, because suddenly, Cronus' cool hand cupped his cheek, tilted his head up and just as he managed to process what was happening, he felt the seadweller's lips on his.  
His first impulse was to tense up, but when the violetblood's other hand began trailing up his spine and rubbing soothing circles into his back, he felt himself relax against him. His second impulse was to return the gentle press of lips and allow himself to get lost in the feeling. His arms somehow found their way around Cronus' neck and for the next minutes, all there was was the two of them and the soft splashing sounds from the fountain right beside them. Just as Kankri realized that there had been a tongue in his mouth that wasn't his for the past minute, Cronus broke the kiss.  
The temptation to simply pull his face back down and keep kissing him made his fingertips tingle, but he also realized that he needed a minute to catch his breath.  
"You know," Cronus exhaled and the raspy tone of his voice made Kankri's toes curl, "I actually don't care if there's some sorta fateful string or not, I say we give it a try."  
"Give what a try?" The Seer managed, panting. He could feel his heartbeat in every fiber of his body.  
"You know. Us."  
The hushed statement was followed by another soft kiss that left Kankri feel entirely breathless. It was as though every clear thought, everything solid in his being had been sucked out of him. He swayed deliciously against the taller body and sighed, his eyes shutting just as his head came to rest against the seadweller's pecs.  
"I'm really glad you brought that up, you know. I've been meaning to tell you for a while." He didn't have the strength to keep lying and frankly, he didn't see the necessity for it, either. On the contrary, the idea of finally coming clean caused a new wave of excitement to rush through him. "Because we are."  
Cronus, who had just started combing his fingers through Kankri's hair, perked up. "Hm?"  
"The string. It's there. It's been there all along and from day one I've seen it. You and I, we are meant to be."  
He felt the dense muscle under his head tense. "What?"  
Kankri looked up and felt the smile die on his face, just as something else died somewhere deep inside of him when he saw Cronus' expression. As the seadweller spoke again, his voice was harsh like nothing Kankri had ever heard before.  
"So you lied to me?"  
"Well, yes, but I didn't mean any harm, I just-"  
"Is there anything else you've been hiding from me?"  
"No. No, of course not, I just wanted to get to know you before coming straight to the point."  
"And if things hadn't gone so well between us? You would've just kept lying to me?"  
"No?" The last word was but a whimper. Suddenly, Kankri didn't know what else to say. He was almost grateful for the red-tinted tears that flooded his eyes and blurred the angry expression on Cronus' face, so he didn't have to see it any more.  
"Forget it. Just- No. I'm not gonna do that. I don't give a _fuck_. I don't even know if you just made that up because things were going well. I probably should've known better than to trust a mutant, anyway."  
As he was pushed away, Kankri couldn't tell which hurt more.  
He could barely even hear Cronus leave while muttering a string of curses under his breath. The sounds of the fountain drowned out the noise of his own heart breaking.  
And it was this moment that Kankri realized, he had fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cronus decides to have standards and not be a desperate whore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're finally done! I apologize for the long wait and for any shittiness, I kind of wrote this late at night because I suddenly felt inspired again, at least somewhat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Porrim takes over.

Porrim grew really worried about a week.  
She hadn't heard of Kankri at all, no peep or sound. Which was unusual, because not only did he never stop talking, but also did he have the decency of dropping by once a week at the least. When seven days went by without so much as a trace of him, she furrowed her perfectly groomed, pierced eyebrows and left the shop to head for the Ascended District.  
Past the tents and stalls and the alley weirdo selling cheap blood towards the tent she recognized so well, despite not having been there in years. Porrim needn't rely on Kankri to find her perfect match. She found it much more exciting to try and find them herself. It was a long way, but she had fun on it, so she saw nothing wrong with it.  
Her painted lips curved into a frown when she found the tent empty. Upon peeking out again, the cat girl in the stall next door perked up. She was surrounded by the distinct smell of herbs. "Kankitten hasn't been here in days!"  
"Really?" Porrim tried not to sound as alarmed as she was by this. "Do you know where he is?"  
"Well, no! I'm growing kind of worried myself! Then again, he was going on a date with Cronus when I last saw him! Maybe it just went very well?" The girl smiled hopefully.  
"Thank you for your help." Porrim offered a smile in return. Halfway to the castle she realized that not only was she not only going to get in there, she also couldn't just ask a member of the royal family if he'd been busy sleeping with her baby all week. That was a no-go. After sucking on the golden ring in her lips for half a minute to ease her growing frustrations, she decided to check on Kankri's place instead and hope for the best. She could still devise a plan to invade the castle if he wasn't there either.  
She always felt uncomfortable in the corner of town he had settled down in. Who wouldn't though? The poorest of the poor gathered there to fight over the most affordable housing and those who couldn't pay for even that just sat around, glowering at anyone who just so happened to walk past. Anyone from a higher caste than ochre was likely to get jumped when passing one of the numerous dark alleys. That Kankri, despite wearing his mutant color on his sleeve bright as day had managed to avoid a slit throat so far was a miracle. Porrim would have really preferred for him to keep living with her, but he had always been so insistant on being independent, he had moved out as soon as he had the money, instead of saving up and settling for something better. She tried not to be bitter about that, though the thought hurt.  
When her knocks went unanswered, she used the spare key she had snatched from him at some point, just in case, he'd never missed it, to find the one room housing space, cluttered with sweaters, a bed and a table, with her suit hung neatly from one of the walls that smelled of mold, completely devoid of life.  
No sign of her bright red wearing sweater boy either. She sighed and felt her shoulders slump, when she heard a creaking sound. A small boy, extremely tired-looking, with horns like handlebars and his hair in the messiest attempt at a mohawk she'd ever seen, had approached her. He was sitting in a rusty wheelchair that trembled precariously under his weight with every uneven turn of slightly crooked wheels.  
"Um. Are you looking for someone?" He asked, voice faltering and picking back up several times through the question. He didn't maintain eye contact, instead opting to look just past her eyes to avoid her gaze. "Because um, you, you don't look like someone who would live here. Is all. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound mean. That was just. I was just. Noticing."  
Porrim smiled warmly at him and even bowed her back to be on his eye level when she answered: "You observed right. I am not from here. My friend lives in this room, have you perhaps seen a small boy in a bright red sweater come this way? I'm looking for him."   
"Yes. I have, actually." The boy stuttered. "He was headed for the main gates. Yesterday, I think. Um. That's all I know. I hope I could help you." The sincerety of his smile made Porrim part with a good portion of the money she had on her, which left the boy entirely speechless.  
The gates then. But where could he have gone beyond that? The wilderness that lay behind the walls was dangerous, animals of all sorts and blood colors roaming the lands. Some tales told of dragons bigger than entire fleets of ships or giant, man-eating spiders. It was unsafe and the thought of her baby being out there without anyone to protect him made her stomach twist.  
Luckily, she had a hunch though.

17 hours and he was still alive.  
Kankri sighed.  
What a hassle.  
The sun was burning down on him, though it would soon disappear behind the cliffs of the canyon and he'd be basked in shadows instead. The stone slab under his back was warm and would be so until late into the night. The strange slates, that remained entirely untouched by any sort of moss or plants, as if nature and time had unanimously decided that they wanted nothing of this, were empty, save for the brown one that had a strange red symbol on it, that almost looked like a bleeding cut. Kankri had seen more than enough of those in his day.  
He lay splayed out on the perfectly circular structure, the same one he'd spend a night on years ago, after running out here in an emotional frenzy, to escape his own broken heart. On second thought, his current situation was not so unlike back then.  
Part of him had been disappointed that he'd made it out here, the slabs were a good hour march from the town and there were dangerous animals supposed to be about. Now he was just laying there, waiting for the sweet embrace of death. Such had been the plan, anyway.  
It was kind of boring, really. He watched the clouds float by and tried not to think about what a huge failure he was overall. How many people managed to tick the person they were destined to be with, their _soulmate_ , off for good?   
He kicked against the rock. Couldn't something come and put him out of his misery already? He didn't even want to think about how many lives he might have potentially ruined with his so-called advice.  
Advice.  
Like he knew enough about matters of the heart to help others find their significant other. What a joke.  
He felt his eyes burn and decided not to wipe the tears away this time. It's not like it mattered. Nobody was there. Nobody would care.  
Cronus would find someone to be happy with. Probably. He had good looks and someone might be willing to overlook his awful personality for the fame and fortune of marrying a royal heir. They might even appreciate the way his fins gave away his every emotion, what was on his mind, the way his eyes softened when he was happy, the snorting sound he made when he laughed, the way he kept smoothing a hand over his hair to keep it in place, those little gestures of vanity, the way he kept his body open and his smile when Kankri had rested his feet on his shoes, more or less accidentally, during their second date, the color of his eyes, how he always found a way to very casually brush a hand or an arm against Kankri and touch him in some little way, the way his lips had molded against his, the way his usually cold body had veritably heated up, the way his breathing sounded when it had picked up, the way he could hear his heart beat against his ribs when he'd pulled him close and those eyes, those eyes-  
Meulin would forget about him. Someone else would take his spot eventually and she'd just share her gossip with them.   
Porrim was going to, well, whatever. She was going to be fine.  
He turned his head to feel the warmth of the slab against his cheek. It was so unlike Cronus. He'd been cold, cool, but not unpleasantly so.  
Except when he had yelled at him for withholding the identity of his soulmate from him. Kankri couldn't blame him. He had messed that one up good. He felt more tears prick at his eyes and cracked a smile when he heard something rustle in the underbush nearby.  
Maybe his weirdly half-assed plan would work out after all.  
"Kankri Vantas! What do you think you're doing? I've been worried sick about you! You are going to come home with me this instant, are we clear?"  
Or not.  
This was worth than death, he decided when he looked up to find himself face to face with a furious Porrim. She was clutching her saw, surprisingly. It was stained with rust-colored blood. There were quite a few splatters on her dress.  
"What happened to you?" He asked, eyes narrowed.  
"A crocodile thought I looked good enough to take a bite. Which is all the more reason for us to go, I need to change and you are not staying out here! What where you thinking?"  
"I'm not going back." He announced, or tried to, but his voice was barely audible against Porrim's aggravated rant.  
"You could have gotten hurt! Or caught a cold! You could have gotten a sunburn!"  
"I said, I'm not going to go back. I am going to stay here!"  
She quirked an eyebrow at his words. "And why is that?"  
"Because I messed up? I have no reason to go back, really."  
"So you're just going to sit on this stone slab for the rest of your natural life? Please, Kanny."  
Kankri bit his lip and glared at her. She cocked her hip out to rest a hand on it.  
"Listen, we all make mistakes, but just running away from them isn't the answer. Honestly, you'd think you'd know that. You're acting like a child. Tell me what happened and we'll figure out a way to fix it, alright?"  
Kankri's gaze remained firmly locked on her face.  
"No."

She dragged him back by the sweater and after half an hour of being pulled in petulant silence, he reluctantly confessed. Porrim shook her head and he was unsure if she was judging his actions of Cronus', but she never interrupted and let him tell her everything.  
"You know, this is almost like back when Latula and Mituna got together. Except then you spent the week moping in your room after running out here to sleep on the slab." She finally said, a soft smile hanging to her words.  
Kankri refused to comment on that.  
"You know, I saw them a while ago. They are still going strong as ever."  
"Great." He managed.  
"There is no need to be bitter about that."  
"I am not bitter." He said, bitterly.  
"But you said they had a string connecting them. So it must have been true for them at least."  
"I might have gotten lucky."  
"Didn't you mention that the girl next to you on the bazar and the horrible guy who always smells like weed also had a connection?"  
"So?"  
"And for just how many years have they been together?"  
He pressed his lips together.  
"Not to mention the wedding dress I was comissioned to design last month, for whom, a lovely lady who exclaimed that she'd met the love of her life and she owed it all to the Ascended with the nubby horns! She recommended you to me, even." A small laugh. "Kankri, you're doing great work. You should have some faith in it."  
"Great." He finally ceded.  
"Now all that is left to do is kick that Cronus in his royal ass and you may get to enjoy some of the sweeter sides of life as well."  
Well. Kankri certainly had his doubts about that.

It was incredible enough that a seamstress managed to charm her way past the guards, he thought, as he accompanied Porrim into the incredible display of privilege that was the royal palace. She had dragged him to her place and quickly devised a plan with Kanaya, all the while getting rid of the animal's blood on her outfit.  
He kept close behind her, feeling small and weak and insignificant and more out of place than he ever had between rows of oil paintings of previous royals. Statues of Empresses at every corner and blue-blooded guards patrolling between the floors, he felt watched. The grey cloak he had thrown over to not be a bright red beacon that could easily be identified as mutant only made him feel marginally less like a sitting duck. The confidence radiating off of Porrim on the other hand, truly helped.  
She had claimed to be here on orders of the Heiress, to help her design a dress of an upcoming ball. There was always a ball upcoming, these royals seemed to throw one at least every month, so no one asked any questions. Most of the guards did take the opportunity to check Porrim out when she walked past them and Kankri scowled at more than one of them for it.  
Pigs.  
When Porrim actually cornered one of the guards to ask for the location of Cronus Ampora's room, Kankri had to avert his eyes.  
Was it the fierce determination in the jadeblood's eyes, her pointy fangs at the guard's throat or her sumptuous curves pressed flush against them, Kankri was happy not to know as he found himself staring at a door mere minutes later. It didn't quite fit in with the general lavish nature of the castle, he found, but then again, how telling can a door possibly be?  
Porrim did him the favor of knocking.  
After a brief moment of anticipation and silence, he heard something rustle behind the walls.  
He nearly jumped when the door was pulled open and one particularly miffed Cronus Ampora glared down at Porrim. "What?"  
"And a good day to you, your Highness." She responded in a dry enough voice that could make people grab the next bottle of water to replenish their fluids.  
Cronus' eyes roamed her form before he seemingly decided that she was not at all an unwelcome guest. He casually draped himself against his doorframe, ran a hand through his hair and cracked a smile that tugged at Kankri's heartstrings something fierce. "Why, hello." He purred. "Did you get lost out here? Or were you looking for me?"  
"I was, actually."  
Not at all thrown off by her matter-of-fact voice, his fins fluttered slightly. "That so, doll? Why don't you come in here and tell me all about it?"  
In retrospect, Kankri was quite certain that there had been no way for anyone to see that slap coming. It echoed through the long hallway and her hand left a violet imprint on Cronus' face, the expression on which remained frozen flabbergast for a good minute, though he brought up a hand to rub over the offended skin.  
"What the fuck?" He finally managed, still too taken aback to be genuinely angry. "What was that for?"  
"That is how you talk to people? Honestly? I wouldn't be surprised if you've never even been with a woman before. I am shook. To think Kankri's supposed to spend the rest of his life with you."  
The mention of Kankri's name made something in Cronus' expression change. He narrowed his eyes and his lips twitched.  
"You're friends with him then, huh?"  
"Friends is an understatement, really." Porrim folded her arms and, despite the difference in height, managed to look down on the prince.  
"Yeah? Well, did he tell you that he was playing me for a fool the entire time?" The seadweller snapped back. His fins flared out in anger.  
"So? What do you think he should have done? Have you ever thought about how awkward it must be to meet someone and then realize they're your soulmate and you're supposed to tell them when you have no idea who that person even is? I know you're not exactly what I'd call an expert on dating, but this much should be clear. That's like saying "I love you" on the second date, what a turn off." She tsked and Kankri only barely managed to stifle a chuckle.  
Cronus only huffed. His shark teeth worried at his lip, something they'd clearly been doing a lot during the past week.  
"Besides, considering your status, a lot of people would be concerned that they might just be seen as gold diggers extraordinaire, trying to sleep their way into the palace. Personally, I don't think he was obligated to tell you at all."  
"Why not? It's literally what I asked him for."  
"Yes and that's sad enough. Asking someone to find your soulmate for you instead of going out there and experiencing all the joys and heartbreak of love, the ups and downs of it that really make it worthwhile and to just skip past all that is a sign of weakness in my eyes. I can understand people wanting a push in the right direction, but even if you're meant to be, you should be prepared to put a whole lot of work into it!"  
By now, Cronus seemed considerably smaller than when he had first started talking to Porrim. He stared at his feet unhappily, as if they could help him shut the lecture up.  
"But of course you didn't think that far, did you? You're just a selfish brat with his head up his ass. You don't even deserve my baby."  
That actually made the man wince harder than the slap had. He looked at Porrim for a long moment and Kankri half expected him to just send her off to the dungeons already, but instead, his broad shoulders slumped and he sighed so heavily that his gills fluttered. He almost seemed to agree with her.  
"What do you want?" He finally asked. The broken tone of his voice made Kankri want to give him a hug. Well, almost. Physical contact wasn't quite his thing.  
"I want you to talk it out. Keeping everything I just told you in mind." With that, Porrim took a step aside to reveal the grey-cloaked Seer who had been hiding behind her the entire time.  
Cronus blinked a few times as he tried to process the sight, but the way the left corner of his mouth curled up slightly was not lost on Kankri.  
"Hey." He said.  
"Hello." Kankri replied.  
"Your friend packs quite the punch."  
"Yes. She is absolutely terrifying."  
They shared an awkward smile, before Cronus lowered his head. His fins drooped.  
"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I really am. I was just so mad, I guess, cause- But I guess I can see why you didn't wanna tell me right away. I mean, nobody else wants to put up with me, I can't really blame you-"  
Kankri raised a hand to stop the seadweller. "Please stop the self-deprecating words. Not only can those be immensely triggering, but also does this tell me that you still managed to evade the point Porrim has come here to make in the first place. I don't don't want to be with you, I merely wanted to take my time to get to know you better before rushing into anything. Just because we happen to be connected by fate doesn't mean we need to fall over ourselves to make this work. Relationships remain a precarious matter that require lots of communication and effort on both sides and we needn't do anything we are uncomfortable with just because it seems as though whatever deity you are most comfortable believing in, had decided it. You should not let any outside forces dictate something as private and as personal as a relationship, but instead be sure to shape it yourself. Only that way can it be truly yours, after all."  
"Wow." Cronus snorted, interrupting Kankri, who wasn't too pleased about that. "Do you ever stop talking?"  
"And that is exactly why it is incumbent to get to know someone. Three dates is hardly enough. In fact, I believe my decision to tell you about the thread in the first place was very precipitated and-" He found himself interrupted again when the seadweller pulled him against his cool form and smoothed a hand through his hair.  
"I wouldn't have mind getting to know you better before we had our first fight."  
The Seer sighed, but carefully encircled the taller body with his arms regardless. He even allowed himself to relax against the sound of the beating heart, so close to his ear.  
"I could have done without that entirely."  
"So. You said you don't _don't_ want to be with me. That still a thing?"  
He didn't need to look Porrim's way to know she was beaming.  
"I suppose I would not be opposed to us making further arrangements to spend time together and well."  
"See where it takes us?" Cronus suggested. His fingers never left the unruly mess of black curls and Kankri found himself not minding.  
"See where it takes us."  
He allowed the seadweller to pull him into his incredibly messy room, that still managed to be somewhat charming, especially when Cronus insisted that he had a special way of organizing his belongings so that only he could find them, only to fail in retrieving his guitar from a pile of laundry that drew a gasp from Porrim before she loudly announced that she was taking her leave, but demanded an update on the situation first thing in the morning.  
After letting Cronus lead him to his bed and sitting next to him on the violet sheets, trying his hardest to loosen up and eventually finding his way into the seadweller's arms again, once a brief nip at a worried lip broke skin and freed a few drops of violet and after hushed apologies were exchanged, Kankri was certain that the news he would give her would be good ones. Because the red thread was still there.


End file.
